ETB now offers a cell phone service

The president of Colombia’s state-run telecommunications company, ETB, announced the company now offers cell phone service.

There are currently 1,300 active sim cards available, a number which is set to rise to 10,000 over the coming months, according to company president Saul Kattan Cohen.

For now ETB only offers a prepaid service, but Kattan Cohen explained that contract plans and data packages would soon be available.

The price of calls range between $0.02 and $0.12 to landlines and cell phones within Colombia while international calls to the U.S. and Spain will cost $0.11.

ETB hit the headlines in December when its share price dropped by 17% after Bogota mayor Gustavo Petro elaborated on plans to merge the company with the city water company EAAB and electricity company EEB.

In response, Kattan Cohen, who took over from Mario Contreras as ETB president in 2012, announced on January 17 that the merger plans would be put on hold.